Industry insights

The Brexit and its Implications on Global Trade Management

Earlier this year the public of the British empire had the chance to vote if they want to stay a part of the European Union or if they are in favor of the Brexit (British Exit from the EU).

The vote was close. About 52% of the public voted in favor of the Brexit. Great Britain will leave the European Union but the entire process of exiting the EU will take about 2 years. That means not Great Britain and the EU got 2 years to set up processes and rules to prepare for that day. It also means companies involved in Global Trade to and from Great Britain do have 2 years to prepare for the new scenario.

As a member of the EU, the UK benefited from the Free Trade Agreements the EU withholds with the rest of the world, making global trade less complicated. Since the UK has exited the EU, it will cease to be a party to the EU FTAs and won’t receive any benefits that it previously had because of the FTAs. An important benefit that will no longer serve the UK is tariff free trade.

While the UK may achieve a more ideal situation through negotiating its own FTAs, however the time, resources, and temporary decline of trade which will occur in order to achieve such agreements will be extremely significant, and will come down to the strength and willingness of other countries to negotiate. Nobody can tell if the decision to leave the EU will be positive or negative for Great Britain in the long term.

OCR offers many solutions for the problems this Brexit could potentially create for Global Trade Management. By following the Brexit developments extremely carefully and monitoring each issue as it unfolds as well as considering the implications of what Brexit might mean for our customers, OCR is on top of the situation. Find out more about our market leading solutions and get a head start to your competitors.